Lubing freehubs
My freehub seems to be seizing up. If I have not turned the cranks for a day or so, when I attempt to turn the peddles backwards the chain just goes slack at the top and the cassette does not move for a few seconds, then it spins backwards and everything is OK. The chain and cassette are both clean. Can I remove the cassette and then dunk the freehub in a jam jar of oil ? do I need to remove the freehub and dunk it in the oil ? or can I oil it in situ somehow.
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What freehub is it?
BTW, could be stiff jockeys too. Lift the chain off them and check they spin freely.0 -
It is a shimano freehub, hope that helps, checked the jockey wheels and they are OK.
BTW ?0 -
BTW = by the way
The only way to safely lube a Shimano freehub is to remove it.This will prevent the lube getting into the bearings and breaking down the grease.
What Shimano hubs are they?0 -
BTW :oops:
Sorry don't know what shimano hub, it was put onto an old wheel a year or so back.
Good point about oil breaking the grease down, so, should I be OK removing them and then oiling, would it be better to dunk in diesel for a while, drain, then dunk in engine or hydrolic oil.0 -
Is it a cassette or is a screw on free wheel?
A cassette will have a lock ring which sits on top of the last sprocket, a free wheel will have a lock ring which will most likely sit recessed inside the sprockets.
If its a cassette its a little more time consuming and will require a little more knowledge to strip it all down.
If its a free wheel it just requires the right tool to spin it off, once removed it can be cleaned out with suitable cleaner.I wouldn't use engine or hydraulic oil as it may be to thick and cause the pawls (the clicky bit inside) to stick.Use a good quality teflon spray.
If it really is quite bad with wear (free wheel) I'd probably replace it anyway rather than mess around0 -
It has a cassette and I can remove it.0
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To clean the freehub then you need to remove the axel and bearings.
Depending on the age of the hub will dictate the size of allen key you'll need to remove it.The older ones used a 10mm and was used on the freehub body side (right hand side bike facing forward) the newer ones use a larger one 14mm I think but stand to be corrected and it goes in the left hand side.
Once its undone it can be removed and cleaned as above.
I have stripped the actual freehub down in the past and re-built them but its a real pain to do and contains loads of tiny bearings.Its does guarantee to solve the problem though but its not for the faint hearted0 -
OK got that, many thanks, I'll have a look tomorrow.0
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The backside of the freehub has a rubber O-ring that can be carefully pried out. Once it's off any solvent can get in and then drain out faster. Having an air gun helps blow all the dirt out and dry it off but not required. Then just dribble some heavy gear oil or lube of your choice in and replace the O-ring. These make the job a lot easier. http://www.morningstartools.com/freehub_buddy1.html If the freehub is 9sp or newer you'll need one of the aluminum dust seals to use this tool as well.0
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I managed to removed the freehub OK but could not see how to split it so I just dribbled some oil into it via the bearing race. Seams to be a bit quieter now. So fingers crossed it is OK.
Many thanks for the assistance.0 -
I had a freehub on some Shimano 105 WH-R550 wheels which started doing as you described.
On getting the bike out, I'd rotate the pedal back to top of stroke before clipping-in, and the freeehub would be reluctant, would jam-up temporarily and the chain would go slack, then it would free with a bit of a clatter and would behave perfectly out on the road.
But then I left the bike alone for a couple of weeks and when I tried to ride it next time the freehub was jammed solid, wouldn't freewheel at all in either direction, like it was a locked hub.
I swapped-out the freehub body with another one I had on an old hub.
When I've got nothing better to do I will dismantle and relube this one.0
